Greater Wausau: Xee Moua cared for family, Hmong community

Jan. 2, 2013

XeeMoua

Written by

Wausau Daily Herald

Xee Moua occasionally got frustrated by traditional Hmong cultural conventions and the fallout from war that essentially took away her childhood and limited her educational opportunities.

But despite the huge responsibilities that were handed to her, and the fact that her family was uprooted from its home when she was 8 or 9 years old, she never lost her generous heart or her motivation to learn and teach, even while struggling in the late stages of cancer. Xee Moua shared that thirst for knowledge with the Hmong community as a whole, hosting a local radio talk show that shared news of the United States and the world with Hmong-speaking listeners in the Wausau area.

Xee Moua died at age 44 from the disease Dec. 15 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

“She had a rough life,” said her sister Neng Moua, 31, of San Jose, Calif. “There were times when she did express ... how much she wished she could have had a regular childhood, but she always overlooked it and used it to propel her to be a better person. She wished to make it a positive impact on her and the people around her.”

Xee Moua was born in 1968, the second of 10 children of Yang Pao Moua and Mai Shoua Lee in Sam Neua, Laos. She was the oldest daughter, and as called for by Hmong tradition, she learned early how to cook, clean, care for animals and watch her younger siblings.

“She really was like a second mother to us,” Neng Moua said.

At the same time, the United States CIA contracted with the Hmong guerrilla army under the command of Gen. Vang Pao to fight as American allies in Laos. Xee Moua’s father was a soldier in that army, said her older brother, Vang Moua, 47, of Wausau, and after the United States pulled out of Vietnam and ended support of Vang Pao’s army, the family fled into the jungle and hid from Laotian government forces that hunted for Hmong soldiers. The Mouas lived in the jungle for about three years, Vang Moua said, from 1975 until the family crossed the Mekong River into Thailand in 1978.

Xee Moua was only 7 to 10 years old at the time, but she worked hard to help provide for the family, looking for roots and other food in the jungle.

The family lived in the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand, and there Xee Moua again took on responsibility and her ability to learn and adapt to new circumstances grew. She was able to attend a Thai school, Vang Moua said, “and she did a pretty good job. She got a job in the United Nations office at the refugee camp. There were hundreds of people at the camp, and she (helped) take care of records.”

She also learned a lot about future plans of the camp, and she worked hard to convince Yang Pao Moua to move the family to the United States, despite the fact that he didn’t want leave his home and start over.

“She knew this would be a good opportunity for for us,” Neng Moua said. “She begged my dad to come to the U.S., doing everything to convince him.”

The family moved to Wausau, and Xee Moua was disappointed that she was too old to go to high school. She went to work, got married and had three children. After her children were older, she went back to school to get her general equivalency diploma.

“She was very proud of herself,” Neng Moua said. “And we all were proud of her.”

Xee Moua separated from her husband and raised three children as a single mom. She worked in Milwaukee for a while, and moved back to Wausau after losing her job. She enrolled in Northcentral Technical College and was a student there until cancer prevented her from studying. She also began reading news stories on WNRB-LP 93.3 FM, the low-wattage station run out of the Wausau Area Hmong Mutual Association.

“She just wanted to know as much as she could know,” Neng Moua said. “And wanted to teach other people about that knowledge.”

Funeral services will be held for Xee Moua starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and continuing through Sunday at the John J. Buettgen Funeral Home in Mosinee. Burial will be held Monday at Pine Grove Cemetery in Wausau.

— Greater Wausau is coverage that celebrates the good things about life in the greater Wausau area and addresses community challenges. If you have a story idea, email Editor Mark Treinen at mtreinen@wdhprint.com or call 715-845-0655.